You mention the WRT54G so I assume that you are using a WLAN AP with a built-in router. If so, then your problem is the 802.11 radio link, not the router and not the wired link to your ISP.
Basic 802.11 is a best-effort, contention-based protocol. The VoIP box will compete for bandwidth with the BitTorrent box essentially on a first-come, first-served basis. There are extensions to 802.11 that allow the AP to control access to the link in order to exercise QoS policies. Most APs (and client NICs) don't support these extensions, especially in consumer products.
Your other choice would be to buy a second AP, run it on a different channel from the first, and give your VoIP box exclusive access to the second AP. A simple hub/switch on the back end will give both APs access to your wired ISP link.
That should be Internet RESEARCH Task Force
on
IETF to Look at Spam
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Actually, it's the IRTF -- not the IETF -- that is undertaking this work. To quote from the IRTF home page - "[Mission] To promote research of importance to the evolution of the future Internet by creating focused, long-term and small Research Groups working on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology."
I believe that 802.11g equipment may interoperate with 802.11b, but I'm not sure.
No,.11g equipment will not inter-operate with.11b equipment. The physical layers are very different. Most vendors are shipping dual mode.11b/.11g equipment. Because both operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, they have one RF front end to bring the signal down to baseband and then apply a little DSP to handle the different PHYs.
The only compatibility between.11g and.11b (besides using the same MAC as all 802.11 standards) is that they run in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The PHY layer used in.11g is completely different from the PHY layer used in.11b; the.11g PHY is closer to the.11a PHY.
It stikes me that "compatibility" is being used rather loosely by the marketing engines at various companies. You cannot, for example, take your.11b-only NIC and communicate with an.11g-only AP (which, to me, would be a true sign of backward compatibility). What's happening instead is that vendors are shipping dual mode.11b/.11g APs. Because both operate in the 2.4 GHz band, they only need one RF front end to take the signal down to baseband; after that, a little bit of DSP takes care of the PHY layer differences.
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You mention the WRT54G so I assume that you are using a WLAN AP with a built-in router. If so, then your problem is the 802.11 radio link, not the router and not the wired link to your ISP. Basic 802.11 is a best-effort, contention-based protocol. The VoIP box will compete for bandwidth with the BitTorrent box essentially on a first-come, first-served basis. There are extensions to 802.11 that allow the AP to control access to the link in order to exercise QoS policies. Most APs (and client NICs) don't support these extensions, especially in consumer products. Your other choice would be to buy a second AP, run it on a different channel from the first, and give your VoIP box exclusive access to the second AP. A simple hub/switch on the back end will give both APs access to your wired ISP link.
Actually, it's the IRTF -- not the IETF -- that is undertaking this work. To quote from the IRTF home page - "[Mission] To promote research of importance to the evolution of the future Internet by creating focused, long-term and small Research Groups working on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology."
Don't expect a quick fix from this initiative.
No, .11g equipment will not inter-operate with .11b equipment. The physical layers are very different. Most vendors are shipping dual mode .11b/.11g equipment. Because both operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, they have one RF front end to bring the signal down to baseband and then apply a little DSP to handle the different PHYs.
The only compatibility between .11g and .11b (besides using the same MAC as all 802.11 standards) is that they run in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The PHY layer used in .11g is completely different from the PHY layer used in .11b; the .11g PHY is closer to the .11a PHY.
It stikes me that "compatibility" is being used rather loosely by the marketing engines at various companies. You cannot, for example, take your .11b-only NIC and communicate with an .11g-only AP (which, to me, would be a true sign of backward compatibility). What's happening instead is that vendors are shipping dual mode .11b/.11g APs. Because both operate in the 2.4 GHz band, they only need one RF front end to take the signal down to baseband; after that, a little bit of DSP takes care of the PHY layer differences.